CAMPAIGN 2012

President Obama didn’t shy away from criticizing his opponent during his first campaign rally on Thursday in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. But he didn’t joke about ‘Romnesia’, either. The speech—billed as the first articulation of Obama’s closing argument ahead of Election Day— pivoted away from partisan sniping to frame a promise to be the little guy’s supporter in Washington.

“In the closing weeks of this campaign, Governor Romney has been using all his talents as a salesman to dress up these very same policies that failed our country so badly. The very same policies we've been cleaning up after for the past four years. And he's offering them up as change,” Obama told supporters at a rally in Green Bay, Wis., the first of three stops in battleground states.

The president vowed to pursue a “common sense-agenda,” based on supporting and strengthening the middle class.

“The folks at the very top of this country don’t need another champion in Washington,” Obama said. “They’ll always have a seat at the table. They’ll always have access and influence. The people who need a champion in Washington are the Americans whose letters I read late at night,” Obama said—struggling auto workers, teachers, inner city and farm-town kids, the cooks and waiters working overtime.

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The president also put a more positive spin on a recent theme of his speeches: trust.

“You know where I stand,” Obama said. “You know I'm willing to make tough decisions, even when they're not politically convenient. And you know I'll fight for you and your families every single day as hard as I know how.”